Ethereum Surges as SEC Ends Investigation into ETH as a Security

Ethereum (ETH) received a significant boost in otherwise quiet markets following news from Consensys that the SED has ended its investigation into “Ethereum 2.0” announced late yesterday. 

Consensys, reporting on the development, noted that the SEC’s decision comes after the Ethereym software company filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April. The lawsuit alleged that the SEC had been attempting to classify ETH as a security, despite previous statements that Ethereum does not exhibit characteristics of a security and falls outside the SEC’s regulatory scope.

The investigation initially stemmed from reports in March regarding an inquiry into the Ethereum Foundation by an unnamed state authority. With the SEC’s decision to end its investigation, the Ethereum community welcomed the news, confirming on Twitter that the SEC will not pursue charges related to the ETH sales as securities transactions. 

At press time, Ethereum (ETH) is trading at $3534.75, marking a 2.7% increase in the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko’s data, this puts ETH 13.8% higher than its value a month ago. 

CoinGecko’s data shows that ETH’s 24-hour trading value has reached $21 billion. The only instance of higher ETH trading volume in the past month occurred on May 24, the day following the SEC’s approval of Ethereum ETFs for trading. 

Meanwhile, several coins linked to Ethereum such as Lido (LDO), Ethereum Name Sevice (ENS), and Maker (MKR) have all recorded double-digit gains over the past day. 

However, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal argued on Twitter that the dispute at the end of the SEC investigation, the broader cryptocurrency industry may still face lingering challenges.